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Environmental Consultation Peer Review. Early Collaboration and Data Sharing Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Tools and Process for Strategic Assessment. Environmental Consultation Peer Review. Thanks to FHWA for funding; Along with . placeways. PURPOSE.
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Environmental Consultation Peer Review Early Collaboration and Data Sharing Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Tools and Process for Strategic Assessment
Environmental Consultation Peer Review Thanks to FHWA for funding; Along with placeways
PURPOSE Develop a Strategic Multi-Criteria Assessment Process to facilitate Adaptive Planning Processes The tools to evaluate or forecast progress towards goals must be available and rigorous. Cross discipline acknowledgement of rigor is necessary for buy-in.
Diagonal Collaboration PURPOSE
Setting The Pikes Peak Area COG is responsible for transportation, military impact, air quality, and water quality planning, along with administering a one-cent sales tax for transportation and demographic and economic forecasting.
Setting • PPACG is involved in several other disconnected but related efforts that staff desires to harmonize, including; • MPO Regional Transportation Plan • Pikes Peak Sustainability Indicators • Fountain Creek Watershed Crown Jewel • Ft Carson Regional Growth Plan
Setting El Paso Pueblo
Setting Percent Growth: 2005-2035 Pueblo County – 54% El Paso County – 66% Combined – 64% Colorado – 34.7% U.S. – 33.7%
Level of Analysis Percent Growth: 2005-2035 Pueblo County – 54% El Paso County – 66% Combined – 64% Colorado – 34.7% U.S. – 33.7%
BASELINE placeways
BASELINE • Determine compatibility of land-uses with long-term viability of indicator species • Fifty-nine Indicator Species Chosen • 23 plants • 12 mammals • 10 birds • 5 insects • 3 fish • 3 reptiles • 2 amphibians • 1 mollusk
BASELINE • 15 of 59 have current long-term viability conflicts – Four (4) candidate species found in the region have no viable habitat left in the region.
Forecast Future Three Future Land-use Scenarios Developed Business as Usual (TELUM) Conservation Enhanced Transportation
Baseline vrs Business as Usual placeways
Baseline vrs Business as Usual 29 species have long-term viability conflicts with the current land-use plans in the region. Other goals unmet.
Conservation • 91,000 acres • Land selected in order to meet conservation goals
Conservation Development “leap-frogs” protected lands, resulting in changing species that are impacted, not enhancing conservation. 28 Species have long-term viability conflicts Other goals unmet.
Enhanced Transportation Using information from transportation planning roundtables expressing desire for more transit, existing multi-use overlay zoning and planned BRT routes, increase density along proposed routes to level FTA suggests is needed to make transit a viable transportation mode.
Enhanced Transportation 28 species have long-term viability conflicts. Other goals met. placeways
Lessons Learned • Some successes and some failures: • More data and information shared resulting in enhanced Fountain Creek Mitigation • Pristine Site Bull-dozed
Summary This process and information proactively highlight potentially future issues and allows incorporation of the issues early by cognizant agencies. Iterative reevaluation by diagonal agencies should become a standard practice.
Other Findings Institutional and political barriers to collaboration between diagonal agencies are difficult to overcome. Accumulated stressors and effects from previous activities will be exposed, so: How should a transportation agency communicate this information to the agencies causing or receiving the impacts? Should some constraint on new actions of other agencies be recommended in order to reduce or mitigate impacts? If we don’t then how can a rational planned future ever be realized? Can consent for an action be denied because it could set a precedent that over time would result in an unwelcome future?
Summary recommendations 1) Develop a comprehensive resource database; 2) Establish measurable goals and benchmarks against which to evaluate the effects of actions; 3) Initiate / improve intergovernmental coordination; 4) Collaborate to develop life-cycle causal chains of effects resulting from past, present, and foreseeable actions.